Rare Mike Trout Rookie Card Sells for Record $900,000

Want a Mike Trout rookie card to add to your collection? It will cost you. According to Action Network’s Darren Rovell, a signed Trout rookie card from 2009—the year the superstar outfielder was drafted 25th overall by the Los Angeles Angels—was sold for a whopping $900,000 earlier this week.

Per Rovell, the winning bid for Trout’s “Red Refractor” card was placed Wednesday night at an auction conducted by New Jersey-based Goldin Auctions. Other items won included Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers championship ring (sold for a hefty $201,250), a signed score sheet from Kobe’s iconic 81-point game in 2006 ($23,750), a photo-matched jersey from LeBron James’ rookie year ($362,500) and a pair of vintage 1986-87 Michael Jordan cards from the coveted Upper Deck Exquisite Collection ($181,200 and $146,400).

The $900,000 shelled out for Trout’s Bowman Chrome rookie card—one of only five made—matches the highest bid ever for a modern-day sports card. A LeBron/Jordan “logoman” NBA card was sold at auction for the same amount earlier this year. The “hammer price” for Trout’s card was an eye-popping $750,000, but the buyers premium brought the final total up to an even steeper $900K.

If his cards are selling for this much now—the reigning American League MVP is still just 28—who knows what the going rate will be for Trout memorabilia years after his Hall-of-Fame career comes to pass. With auction prices soaring, it’s not crazy to think we’ll see future Trout items sell for seven-digits. Honus Wagner’s early-20th-century T206, labeled by many as the "holy grail" of sports cards, remains the most expensive card ever sold, won at auction for an unprecedented $3.12 million in 2016.

Goldin Auctions will continue its Spring Session this weekend with a game-worn 1996-97 Michael Jordan Bulls black road uniform (current bid $200,000), a signed Jordan check for $15,000 made out to Trump Casino in Indiana ($13,000), a ball signed by Derek Jeter’s Kalamazoo Little League team ($13,000) and a copy of Nolan Ryan’s trade contract from 1971 ($10,000) among several big-ticket items up for bid.